Biomass Feasibility Project Final Report - Xcel Energy

Terms. The grant will not exceed 50% of eligible project costs. Grant recipients must provide
one-to-one matching funds. Projects must be completed within one year. Smaller grant
requests receive priority points.
Applications are received at the USDA Rural Development State Office in St. Paul following the
announcement in the Federal Register inviting applications. Selections will be made annually in
the USDA Rural Development National Office for fiscal years 2002-2007.
Further Information is available from Robyn (651-602-7812), Butch (218-681-2843, ext. 114), or Lisa
(507-373-7960, ext.120).
Xcel Energy Renewable Development Fund Grants
The Renewable Development Fund (RDF) was created in 1999 to provide grants, through a
Request for Proposals process, for research and for new projects to produce renewable energy
including wind, solar, hydroelectric and fuel cells as well as biomass. The program’s first round of
grants in 2001 awarded a total of $16 million to 19 projects. For the second round in 2005, the
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved 29 projects totaling nearly $37 million.
Funding is roughly divided equally between R&D and projects that directly result in the
production of renewable energy. In May of 2007, the third round of funding was announced,
with up to $23 million available to invest in new ways to produce electricity from renewable
resources. The Fund is a member of CESA, the Clean Energy States Alliance.
This paper was funded through the RDF.
Tribal Energy Program
Tribes may take advantage of a number of the programs listed above. But in addition, the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has developed a
program aimed specifically at tribes, the Tribal Energy Program. It offers financial and technical
assistance for feasibility studies and shares the cost of installing renewable energy systems on
tribal lands.
For a full account of the program’s many aspects, go to:
www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/
Or contact the director of the program:
Thomas Sacco
Weatherization & Intergovernmental Program
U.S. Department of Energy, EE-2K
Forrestal Building, MS 5G-045
1000 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20585
Telephone: (202) 586-0759
Fax: (202) 586-1605
Email: Thomas.Sacco@ee.doe.gov
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Identifying Effective Biomass Strategies:
Quantifying Minnesota’s Resources and Evaluating Future Opportunities